how do I know when pityriasis rosea is healing?

And another case of Pityriasis Rosea.. (London, UK)
Herald patch appeared on my back on Sunday 4 Sept, by Sunday 17 Sept, the breakout had happened over my stomach -chiefly-, on my inner elbows, on my inner arms near my armpits, on my chest, on my back, and around my neck.
Using antihistamine & an emollient, the first few days of the week commencing 18 Sep showed a slow-down in new patches, only 2 days ago (that's 3 weeks post-herald patch), more and more rash is appearing on my breasts, neck -up to my chin, stomach, bikini line, and thighs. A few have also appeared on my calves this morning.
The weird part is that the new breakout is not completely in line with the previous shape of wide, oval pink/brown patches but it's, mostly, in the form of spots (like pin-head spots) and they are everywhere, as mentioned. Anyone else can report something similar?

Re. Head & Shoulder, do people use it as a shower gel under the running water, or am I supposed to keep it on my body for 5 minutes and then rinse?
Is this routine supposed to happen more than once a day?

Yesterday (24 Sept), since the itch and -above all- burning has worsened, I started applying a lavender massage oil (Bochéry Nature, Greek brand) on my body and used some on the sole of my feet just now (since soles are highly absorbent). Not sure how useful this will be but I read that lavender has anti-viral qualities. The reason it's massage oil is because I was told the essential oil would be too strong to apply on the skin.
Any reported experiences with lavender (massage) oil?

I cannot wear clothes at all, even when I put cotton clothing on. How have people dealt with having to go to the office and be in a corporate, client-facing role and weeks of this?
I also cannot shave for fear of aggravating my skin.

I read in one, singular comment that the person exercised during their PR bout: has anyone done it and does it heat up the rash or does it help overall?

Standing-up tanning booth: did 5 minutes on 22 Sept and 9 minutes today (3 days on). The frequency of UV exposure, as well as the length of the sessions, seem to vary greatly between people on the net. Some recommend a total of 6 sessions in 4 weeks, some every day, some 5 minutes, some 20! It will be useful to know at what stage of the PR bout (e.g. 1 week post-herald patch) did you start UV sessions and how long after (including frequency and length of time) did you actually see the patch start to fade or reduce?

I am going through an acrimonious separation and know that my stress levels are far too high and my immunity system weak, so I am convinced this is what enabled the virus to activate.

One final thing, a bleach bath was recommended on certain forums (you dilute a cap of bleach in a lukewarm bathtub) but I just can't get myself to do that. Anyone done it?

Thanks

To all the fellow PR sufferers. It is truly awful condition that lingers for a very long time. But here are some things that helped me:
1. Boost your immune system. There is an awesome homeopathic medication called Engystol . Its german and manufacturer is Heel. On the box its said for cold and flue, but I've been taking it on and off when i feel my body is physically tired or im super stressed out. Another great natural supplement is Olive leaf extract. Same thing it's great for immune system and has a bunch of other benefits you can look it up. Both can be found on amazon. Vitamins and ginger tea.
2. Itching was insane:(i used cetrinizine in the morning and before bed and also i found this ointment that was great called Herpa One. It relieved itching and was pretty moisturizing. I would use it before bed. Also found it on amazon.
3. Diet and lifestyle. I noticed my itching got worse if I had any alchohol or spicy food. So i tried to eat more plain and healthier. Also was trying to get good sleep and let my body rest. Try to avoid stress.
I hope everyone is feeling better! Good luck!

Thankful for this page. Knowing that I'm not alone and there are other people who undergo this really help me, at least psychologically. It also helps to know that it will subside.

I have a strong guess that I have PR. I went to urgent care about 2 weeks ago, when the herald patch on my back was my main concern. Only had a few of the small rashes back then. The doctor wasn't sure what I had so she prescribed me antifungal and stronger topical cream lotion. She referred me to a dermatologist but can't get in until 2 months from now :( :( So I decided I'd research a lot myself. I used the topical cream and antifungal on both the herald rash and smaller rashes for 2 weeks (stopped last weekend) as I'm super cautious about prolonged use of the topical cream (thinning of the skin). The herald rash got better but still everyday I will find new small rashes, but I think they are somehow suppressed by the topical cream (now I find more appearing faster after stopping this treatment last weekend).

Since last weekend, I started going to tanning. So far have gone to 2 tanning sessions (every other day), at 5 and 7 minutes each, and a couple of sunbathe of 10-15 minutes. Right after the session or sunbathing I put on Head and Shoulder Clinical Strength and waited for 5 minutes before showering it off, followed by putting on Cetaphil restoraderm moisturizing lotion. Tried the desitin at 40% zinc oxide one night but it smelled so badly it made me very very uncomfortable, so I stopped this. So far the appearance of new rash hasn't stopped / slowed down (I'm so ready any time for this) and that defining sign of recovery is not at sight. Most (and a lot of ) rashes are on the torso, with a few on the neck, a few on upper arms and upper legs, and a couple on the lower left cheek. Itch level varies but fortunately I haven't lost much sleep. Hopefully this goes away soon, it's been approx 7-8 weeks since the first appearance of the herald patch.

i suffer for this rashes for almost 8 months now, I'm not sure what trigger this PR as i remember i took L-arginine supplement 3x a day and after few days past, small rashes appear in my left side torso, rashes spread so fast under my arms and back. this rashes made me so depress and hopeless. i used a lot of different brand of corticosteroid cream (dermovate) , calamine lotion. used only dove soap and cetirizine HCl antihistamine orally. only to relieve itchiness. i took telfast antihistamine once but it aggravate the skin rashes.
i found out regarding using Head and shoulder shampoo (with menthol and for itchy scalp) for bathing. used it once and i already feel and see the result, its sting when using during bathing (lukewarm only) , leave it on my skin for more than 10 minutes. then rinse. it made the rashes a little inflamed and reddish at first but less itchy. 2x a day bathing for 3 days and the rashes became dry and peel off. there is more rashes appear in other part of my body but unlike before it dried out easily and not itchy as before, the other rashes already gone without scarring and still waiting for rashes at my back to heal. good thing this rashes doesn't appear on my neck and face. and also try to sun bath in the morning.
my testicle skin became so dry because of head and shoulder its like a dried prunes LOL better be careful also using the shampoo. overall i would say the head and shoulder as body wash really gave a great result. amazing!

I had PR for almost 4 months. I didn't have the classic Christmas tree on my back. It was mainly on my legs. I honestly have no idea WHAT worked as I tried so many things it could have been anything. BUt when I finally talked myself into going tanning, that is when it started to go away. Immediately after it was aggravated but the next day it was so much better. I only went for a few mins each time (3-8 minutes) and I went every other day for about 2 weeks. Also used organic coconut oil at night. I think I got it because I has psoriasis years ago. Read that something stays dormant and an infection can set it off. I had a very sore throat for a couple of weeks before it started but wasn't sick at all. I had a very large herald patch in my leg and as soon as that went away, all of it did. The rash was mainly on my legs but it was horrible. I had hundreds of spots. So hang in and maybe give the tanning a shot. I stopped using moisturizers as it seemed to inflame it. Good luck to all and yes....it will go away eventually.

I had PR for almost 4 months. I didn't have the classic Christmas tree on my back. It was mainly on my legs. I honestly have no idea WHAT worked as I tried so many things it could have been anything. BUt when I finally talked myself into going tanning, that is when it started to go away. Immediately after it was aggravated but the next day it was so much better. I only went for a few mins each time (3-8 minutes) and I went every other day for about 2 weeks. Also used organic coconut oil at night. I think I got it because I has psoriasis years ago. Read that something stays dormant and an infection can set it off. I had a very sore throat for a couple of weeks before it started but wasn't sick at all. I had a very large herald patch in my leg and as soon as that went away, all of it did. The rash was mainly on my legs but it was horrible. I had hundreds of spots. So hang in and maybe give the tanning a shot. I stopped using moisturizers as it seemed to inflame it. Good luck to all and yes....it will go away eventually.

Thank you to everyone who commented in this forum - it kept me sane through the 11 weeks my PR lasted! At times, it felt like my body would never be free of red scaly spots, but all of the sudden (at about the 9-10 week mark) they began to turn brown, spread out, and then disappear - now, you can barely tell my skin was ever effected. Only slight shadows of a few of the last spots remain.

The psychological effects of this rash, for me, were much worse than the physical ones. It was misdiagnosed twice as a fungal rash, and although I had my own suspicions at about 6 weeks that it was PR and mentioned this to 2 doctors, neither were familiar with it and prescribed a fungal wash/advised me not to moisturize, and that actually made the PR worse. Finally, a dermatologist was able to see me, and knew right away it was PR.

My advice - if you have this rash, try not to panic, and stay off of Google (if you're prone to anxiety like me). I didn't have the classic herald patch (that I know of), no significant viral illness I remember before I broke out, and my rash spread very slowly over the first four weeks, becoming worst at about the 8 week mark. I did feel "off", achy, and had a sore throat for most of the duration of the rash - maybe because the rash is suspected to be cause by a virus? My spots were classically red, scaly, concentrated on my stomach and back, and did follow Langer's lines, but some also became purpuric (had little broken blood vessels in them) usually right before they started to disappear. These petechiae were what caused me so much anxiety (they can be a sign of leukemia or lymphoma), but doctors reassured me this was just because of the viral nature of the rash. So bottom line - try not to panic, and know that it will eventually clear up! Take vitamin C and zinc to boost immunity, get maybe 5-10 minutes of sun a day on the rash, try to keep stress levels as low as possible, and moisturize (I used Ceravae brand lotion)! All of the above helped me in the end - to all suffering from this right now, hang in there!

If you are dealing with PR, go to your doctor and ask for Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream. Apply once or twice daily on the area of PR. Mine went away in 5 days! It works really well! Hope this helps you guys. Having PR was pretty rough!

These spots do go away, don't panic. Go tanning or get as much natural sunshine on your spots as you can. Google pityaris rosea and tanning you will see that there is a medical study showing that uva light works. My spots completely faded within 3 to 4 weeks and I only got them on places where I had no tan. Besides sunlight I moisturized with cereve lotion. I am so happy they faded away, no peeling or anything. Don't worry, soon you too will be spot free.